Mike Gallagher

Offseason Beat

Fantasy Basketball Mock Draft

Mock drafts are the best. That’s especially true for fantasy basketball. Those of you that live and breathe fantasy sports around the clock hopefully know that the stakes of the draft are very high for hoops. Owners really have to be on the ball for every pick and draft a well-rounded team. As for the other popular fantasy sports, some lucky dude will win your fantasy football league from two great picks while another fantasy baseball owner will have his team get hot in the last month of the season and win that league. NBA players tend to stay consistent with less variance in their stats.

On the night of September 26, 12 fantastic fantasy guys got together to test the waters of the fantasy hoops landscape. Here are the results of a 12-man, nine-category mock draft:

Round Recap: The first thing that was shocking was Mr. Buser going with Stephen Curry. However, he did mention this was an exploratory move and he took Chris Paul at three in his last mock. Obviously, it’s hard to knock this pick considering SC set the record for treys in a season.

Besides that, it was fairly status quo. Some people may scratch their heads on Bruski’s pick on Serge, but I can’t find an issue with it whatsoever. He’s a stud in percentages and as long as you get a dime-heavy guard, you’re good to go. I thought Levitan had the steal of the round with George at eight.

As for me, the big-man well is going to dry up quickly, so I thought grabbing the best one seemed to make a whole lot of sense. Marc Gasol is money in the bank for percentages and durability to go with his double-double stats.

Round Recap: First and foremost, LaMarcus Aldridge should not go 20 in any Roto-style draft. I almost took him at 14 over Melo, and in hindsight, I would swap LMA for Melo based on how the rest of the draft went. It’s worth mentioning that you don’t ever be that guy in your league with a lack of big men. Derrick Rose is the ultimate risk/reward pick this year. I usually don't like to gamble too much in the early going, but the former MVP should definitely be off the board in the top 20.

As for my RW mates, Mr. Bruski is a little stubborn with his guys. I know he was all about that Ibaka-Davis life last year and he certainly hasn’t changed his tune so far. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Davis become the best big man in fantasy in his second year. Doctor A and I are sippin’ the Wall Koolaid and Levitan taking Horford was an easy/safe pick.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the Deron and Dirk picks. Deron getting an MRI so soon is scary and Dirk has seen some of the official blogs talk about possibly taking it easy on him with the minutes. I'd take Conley over D-Will all day. I do like them in the third, though.

Round Recap: It’s hard to believe, but there were a lot of gambles in this round. That’s fantasy basketball, though. I think my favorite pick is Ty Lawson since he and Brian Shaw should get on the same page quickly. I smell a breakout and I think he’ll be a top-10 guard as long as he’s healthy. Also, I do think that Paul Millsap is ranked a little low in the Yahoo! rankings. He’s a fantasy force for boards, points and percentages. He might be the safest pick in this round. I like Rubio quite a bit and he won a lot of leagues last year with the dimes and steals coming in bunches. Pau Gasol is a risky pick, but he said on Thursday that he's healthy. He was once the best big in fantasy.

DMC was steady countin’ those Benjamins Thursday night with his extension, so he has every opportunity to blow up and redeem himself after a sub-par 2012-13. Levitan was right on time with his pick and there was no way he would have made it back to him. Doc will also be the first to tell you he made a mistake taking Duncan here.

Maybe I saw too much playoffs, but I believe in Hibbert. He was stupendous in the second half and he carried it into the postseason. The G-Town product can shoot free throws at a solid clip, plus he’s a solid shot blocker. I have aspirations of him being the top center in fantasy this year.

Round Recap: It’s time to take who you want. That’s the best part about fantasy hoops. Really, you can take anyone from 25-50 and there won’t be many issues as long as you did your research. The RW posse was all over the place in this round with guys that have massive upside. Teague, Ellis and Bledsoe all could be in the top five in steals and I like all of these picks. Nobody is sleeping on Bledsoe and he won't be going past the fourth round in any credible league. Dwight and BG went where they should with their FT% issues and they could prove to be bargains in this format. Kawhi, Brook and Kemba could all be studs, too.

I would be remised to not mention that I was shocked that Doctor A didn’t take Jeff Green here. To give you guys an inside scoop, Doc and I have spent a lot of time talking about how many stats JG will produce.

I like Monta a lot, but that’s assuming he stays off a moped. Kidding aside, he has some serious upside. Sure, Dirk is going to lead the team in scoring, but Ellis has a legitimate shot at scoring in the high teens while ranking in the top five in steals. It’s easy to forget he was tied for second in total steals last year. Dallas should run a fast pace and that'll help all of their players. Monte!

Mock drafts are the best. That’s especially true for fantasy basketball. Those of you that live and breathe fantasy sports around the clock hopefully know that the stakes of the draft are very high for hoops. Owners really have to be on the ball for every pick and draft a well-rounded team. As for the other popular fantasy sports, some lucky dude will win your fantasy football league from two great picks while another fantasy baseball owner will have his team get hot in the last month of the season and win that league. NBA players tend to stay consistent with less variance in their stats.

On the night of September 26, 12 fantastic fantasy guys got together to test the waters of the fantasy hoops landscape. Here are the results of a 12-man, nine-category mock draft:

Round Recap: The first thing that was shocking was Mr. Buser going with Stephen Curry. However, he did mention this was an exploratory move and he took Chris Paul at three in his last mock. Obviously, it’s hard to knock this pick considering SC set the record for treys in a season.

Besides that, it was fairly status quo. Some people may scratch their heads on Bruski’s pick on Serge, but I can’t find an issue with it whatsoever. He’s a stud in percentages and as long as you get a dime-heavy guard, you’re good to go. I thought Levitan had the steal of the round with George at eight.

As for me, the big-man well is going to dry up quickly, so I thought grabbing the best one seemed to make a whole lot of sense. Marc Gasol is money in the bank for percentages and durability to go with his double-double stats.

Round Recap: First and foremost, LaMarcus Aldridge should not go 20 in any Roto-style draft. I almost took him at 14 over Melo, and in hindsight, I would swap LMA for Melo based on how the rest of the draft went. It’s worth mentioning that you don’t ever be that guy in your league with a lack of big men. Derrick Rose is the ultimate risk/reward pick this year. I usually don't like to gamble too much in the early going, but the former MVP should definitely be off the board in the top 20.

As for my RW mates, Mr. Bruski is a little stubborn with his guys. I know he was all about that Ibaka-Davis life last year and he certainly hasn’t changed his tune so far. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Davis become the best big man in fantasy in his second year. Doctor A and I are sippin’ the Wall Koolaid and Levitan taking Horford was an easy/safe pick.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the Deron and Dirk picks. Deron getting an MRI so soon is scary and Dirk has seen some of the official blogs talk about possibly taking it easy on him with the minutes. I'd take Conley over D-Will all day. I do like them in the third, though.

Round Recap: It’s hard to believe, but there were a lot of gambles in this round. That’s fantasy basketball, though. I think my favorite pick is Ty Lawson since he and Brian Shaw should get on the same page quickly. I smell a breakout and I think he’ll be a top-10 guard as long as he’s healthy. Also, I do think that Paul Millsap is ranked a little low in the Yahoo! rankings. He’s a fantasy force for boards, points and percentages. He might be the safest pick in this round. I like Rubio quite a bit and he won a lot of leagues last year with the dimes and steals coming in bunches. Pau Gasol is a risky pick, but he said on Thursday that he's healthy. He was once the best big in fantasy.

DMC was steady countin’ those Benjamins Thursday night with his extension, so he has every opportunity to blow up and redeem himself after a sub-par 2012-13. Levitan was right on time with his pick and there was no way he would have made it back to him. Doc will also be the first to tell you he made a mistake taking Duncan here.

Maybe I saw too much playoffs, but I believe in Hibbert. He was stupendous in the second half and he carried it into the postseason. The G-Town product can shoot free throws at a solid clip, plus he’s a solid shot blocker. I have aspirations of him being the top center in fantasy this year.

Round Recap: It’s time to take who you want. That’s the best part about fantasy hoops. Really, you can take anyone from 25-50 and there won’t be many issues as long as you did your research. The RW posse was all over the place in this round with guys that have massive upside. Teague, Ellis and Bledsoe all could be in the top five in steals and I like all of these picks. Nobody is sleeping on Bledsoe and he won't be going past the fourth round in any credible league. Dwight and BG went where they should with their FT% issues and they could prove to be bargains in this format. Kawhi, Brook and Kemba could all be studs, too.

I would be remised to not mention that I was shocked that Doctor A didn’t take Jeff Green here. To give you guys an inside scoop, Doc and I have spent a lot of time talking about how many stats JG will produce.

I like Monta a lot, but that’s assuming he stays off a moped. Kidding aside, he has some serious upside. Sure, Dirk is going to lead the team in scoring, but Ellis has a legitimate shot at scoring in the high teens while ranking in the top five in steals. It’s easy to forget he was tied for second in total steals last year. Dallas should run a fast pace and that'll help all of their players. Monte!

Round Recap: I was hoping JV would make it back to me, but at least I didn’t have to wait long. I went to summer league and fell in love, but apparently not in love enough. Fellow JV fans in leagues with savvy owners better reach and reach hard. Seriously, if you take him in the top 30, I don’t have a problem.

Jeff Green, Ersan Ilyasova and Thaddeus Young are major breakout candidates. Speaking of candidates, what ever happened to Trung Candidate? But I digress. Well, pretty much every player in this round could be an elite asset. Levitan is a big fan of Pierre McGee and he also took him in the draft-guide mock, but I'm not quite as bullish. As alluded to, it’s strange that Round 5 players have less risk than the guys taken in Round 3.

I am growing fondly of Chandler Parsons. While Dwight was with the Magic, his team ranked first in the NBA in 3-pointers for five of his last six seasons. Plus, the Rockets should be among the league leaders in pace and that’ll reflect positively on the Chandler Parsons Projects’ stats across the board.

Round Recap:Greg Monroe has been the man in the middle for a long time with his efficient scoring at the rim, so he’s kind of a steal here. Bruski decided to corner the market on blocks like the Duke brothers cornered the marketed on frozen orange juice with his Drummond selection. Besides the 80’s movie references, there were some other interesting picks here. Doc went with Klay Thompson, and if I hadn’t hitched my wagon to Chandler Parsons, that was going to be my pick. There wasn’t really a bad pick in this round and that’s become a common theme. The last four picks of this round were terrific picks, as well. Oh and Enes Kanter could bust out this year.

Nobody wants Dragic with Bledsoe getting all the headlines. He’s still going to run the point quite a bit and the Suns don’t have much as far as offense. Is it that hard to believe that two guards can pick up most of the scoring burden? The Suns have major issues on offense on paper and it’s unclear who will score the ball for them. I will be drafting many more Suns in the following rounds.

Round Recap: I have to say I was shocked that Bruski took Drummond over Gordon Hayward. Perhaps nobody pimped GH more than AB. Hayward has a massive opportunity this year and the Jazz seem content in allowing him to carry the load on the perimeter. Personally, I almost took him over Parsons. Moving along, the round kicked off with some interesting picks. Gortat is going to be on the trade block with his expiring deal and Vasquez will have to compete with Isaiah Thomas for their starting gigs. Of course, both have proven to be productive with a noticeable allotment of minutes.

There were some high-upside picks here, too. I thought Doc had a nice pick with Mayo and Levitan scooping up Hawes here made a lot of sense. He's not sexy, but the Sixers need him to perform big time. Rajon Rondo has a handful of questions, but at this point in the draft, it’s hard to blame Scott for pouncing here. Z-Bo and Reke seem like fairly safe picks at this point in the draft. Wesley Matthews was a steal last year, but one year after Portland had one of the shallowest benches in NBA history, that’s different this year. It's still a solid pick.

I went with Kev-Mart. I was mildly surprised he was still around now that he won’t have to share the ball with KD and Westy. He’s been a perennial stud in free throw percentage and with Kevin Love and the penetration of Rubio, Martin seems to be set up nicely. I was expecting him to go higher in drafts, but I’ll gladly hop on here. Remember when he had third-round value in Sacramento with head coach Rick Adelman?

Round Recap: Solid round. This is a recording. There were a lot safe picks here, which isn’t such a bad idea. The round kicking off with the Manimal seemed like a steal and as long as Shaw doesn’t slow the Nuggets down too much, he could be a 14-11 guy.

The Daily Dose Duo of Bru and Doc A went with the Bulls starting wings of Deng and Butler. If one thing is clear, coach Tom Thibodeau is set to unleash those guys and their values shouldn't be hurt too badly by Rose. Nobody will sleep on Deng, but make sure you keep your eye on Butler in this neighborhood of your draft. Evan Turner could be a steal, but he has to learn how to play more consistently. J.R. Smith's injury is going to cause him to slide, but there is still value at this spot.

I was a little surprised to see The Truth slide this far in draft, even after Kevin Garnett. Yes, no player was the consensus top pick more than KG from 2000-10, but the aging process is a cruel mistress. The Nets are very deep and it’s going to be hard to draft any of their players. For what it’s worth, I’m a Nets fan.

I needed a high-upside point guard. What can fit the bill better than rookie on a team that’s rebuilding? While I was highly discouraged by Burke’s Orlando Summer League, it just made sense to take point guard here. Burke couldn’t combat the big men in the paint to get a shot, but I’m hoping the Jazz staff will be able to coach him up. John Lucas shouldn’t push him too much and as long as Burke isn’t a complete disaster, he should prove to have value in most fantasy leagues.

Round Recap: It’s fun time. Mr. Andriesse went with a 3-point bonanza with his Green-Korver connection. Quite frankly, I can’t believe Green slipped that far. He has one of the prettiest Js in the NBA and Manu Ginobili isn't getting any younger. Oh and Korver was second in the NBA in 3-point percentage and fourth in total makes last year, plus he could have added opportunity with Lou Williams still rehabbing. I was eyeing Bogut with this pick at the back end, but Ethan didn’t make me sweat it out by taking him at No. 2 in this round. Head coach Mark Jackson has said nothing but positives with Bogut and he’s expected to be ready to resume a full amount of minutes with a loaded GSW squad.

The RW team went with a youth movement. I also was ready to pounce on Oladipo, but Levitan nabbed him. He and I tend to go for trendy guys, so he almost always takes I guy I have on my radar. Stick to football, Adam. Doc went with Cody Zeller and the Bobcat brass has been obsessing over him all summer. He’s clearly ahead of Josh McRoberts and could hit 32 minutes per game and may be a dub-dub guy.

There were a few picks that I’m not making in this round. I’m not touching Danny Granger. Rumor has it that he is only going to play 15 minutes per game in November and he’ll be frustrating owners across the globe. Although, there are some positive reports on Batman, so he carries nice value this late. Joe Johnson may be one of the best shooters in the clutch, but the Nets added depth makes him an extremely dicey play in fantasy leagues. Boozer and Varejao are just not my style either. They’re hurt too often and don’t offer enough upside. They’re not bad picks at all, just not for me.

I’m all in on Harrison Barnes. The Warriors did bring in Andre Iguodala to start at the small forward spot and handle the ball a bit while on the floor. Not to mention there are too many injury-prone players on the Warriors. Stephen Curry (ankles), Andre Iguodala (tendinitis in knees and Achilles), David Lee (hip, knee and shoulder issues) and Andrew Bogut (body) have all missed numerous games recently. If any of their starting five goes down, it will directly benefit Barnes.

Round Recap: Bruski put a cap on the rookie run with his selection of Anthony Bennett. In an effort to make a shameless plug, check out Ryan Knaus’ position battles column for more on the 2013 top pick. Besides that, nothing else really stood out. I thought Brandan Wright and Jameer Nelson were nice picks while John Henson could be more than a muppet. Buser has been pimping Wright a lot on Twitter and he could have a big year. Dallas could be a fantasy factory this season. I also thought Dion Waiters was a solid pick here, too. Brandon Knight could also have some opportunity since someone has to score the ball besides Ersan and Mayo.

Double dipping is usually dangerous territory, especially with people you don’t know. Well, that’s what I did. After going with Burke, I went rookie PG hunting for Michael Carter-Williams here. My logic is that one of the two will have a solid season and since neither has any competition behind them it’s not too far-fetched that they both become top-20 PGs. Yes, I’m aware my FG% is stinky with these picks.

Round Recap: As per usual, Jeff A. kicked off the round with a solid pick. Emeka Okafor (neck) being out indefinitely should bode well for Nene and he’s going to get minutes at the five, per coach Randy Wittman. The Magic have a bit of a cluster (bad word here) on the wings, so while Harkless could completely break out after his strong second half, he’s no lock to do so. Plus, he’s one of the worst jump shooters in the NBA. Obviously, it’s not a bad pick at this stage of the game. I really like Alec Burks quite a bit this year and if he can somehow hit treys, he could be in for a big season. I’m a fan of the Dalembert and Crawford picks as safe options in this round. Doc A getting IT2 could prove to be a major steal. Noel was interesting, but he's going to have a minutes cap for most of the season for the Philadelphia Tanks.

There’s something about the mystery of crappy teams. I’m honing in on the Suns quite a bit this year. They have cleared out most of their depth this year and have paved the way for a handful of players. There aren’t many players that can hit treys, block shots and earn some steals, but that’s what Markieff Morris can do. I will gladly take a chance on him and you can usually get him late.

Round Recap: “Smoke if you got ‘em,” Bruski said as he put the Bynum slide to a halt. You really can’t blame him for taking the big man in the 12th round. If he’s not ready, then you can cut him and not feel too bad about it.

I’ve seen Buser take Thornton in both mocks I’ve done with him, so he's clearly a fan. I get that he was outstanding in the second half, making 47.0 percent from the field, but the addition of Vasquez doesn’t seem to help his case for minutes since GV has enough size to play some shooting guard. Plus, they drafted a wing in Ben McLemore. Although, at this stage, it’s hard to deny MT23’s upside. I liked Doc taking Seraphin here and Eric Gordon in the 12th round could be a useful pick. EJ has been way too hurt recently, but he’s capable of putting up big numbers.

The Bucks could be putting on a interesting show this year. They let their top three scorers go, so it’s wide open as far as offense goes. The team has already said they’re prepared to start Caron Butler at the three and he’s just five years removed from being a fantasy stud. Go ahead and draft him, but his injury history suggests that you might want to cut him at the first sign of trouble.

Round Recap: I was angry that Levitan that took my guy Reggie Jackson. He’ll be worth owning as long as he gets 26 MPG and that’s within reach. Although, Durant said that Jeremy Lamb looks really good. We'll be watching that battle closely. Bruski taking his boy Patrick Beverley was right on time too and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him usurp the starting gig from Jeremy Lin. Chris Kaman could prove to be a must-start player, but his health will likely be a thorn in his side.

I went with Kelly Olynyk. He has some plantar fasciitis, but most signs indicate that he’s going to start at center. He was the best player at Orlando Summer League as far as the stats go. Yes, I understand that’s like winning the tallest midget contest.

Round Recap: Most of these guys have lost their luster. Ray Allen was a perennial first-round pick back in the Sonics days, but he’s going to need Dwyane Wade to miss time to be a worth putting into lineups. I like the Sullinger, Budinger and Len picks the most for this round. Besides those, I can’t see myself drafting any other player from this round. Chase Budinger is going to miss time, but this pick was made before that news.

Round Recap: I really liked Arnett Moultrie and the questionable rotation of the Sixers, but he’s out until 2014 with ankle surgery. This pick was made before the injury news. Thabo Sefolosha could be an asset, but the young guns in Reggie Jackson and Jeremy Lamb would really have to flop. RJ can stick most point guards and Russell Westbrook can guard a lot of twos, so it makes sense for RJ to get most of the minutes in between KD and Westy on the perimeter. It’s a very interesting backcourt rotation to watch, which seems silly since they earned the top seed in the Western Conference last season. McCollum couldn’t buy a bucket in Vegas and perhaps that’s why the team added Mo Williams, Nate Robinson doesn’t strike me as a Shaw guy and Michael Beasley is, ummm, yeah, that guy.

I went with Meyers Leonard. I’m not 100 percent sold in Robin Lopez locking down the center spot. Leonard had a strong offseason and he came on in the second half, too.